I spent much of my time marching by practicing with the heat which flowed like blood through my body. Unfortunately, I had ample time to spend with my thoughts during my hunt. Why had the Jihad’s attacked our little village? We had nothing of true value, not to mention Styria had been allied with their kingdom for decades. Obviously this was no longer the case, but the change in alliance had to be recent. We were in the backwoods of Styria, but word still traveled about major events even to our little village.

I flicked my wrist to shoot a small gush of flame to my side, a tick I recently picked up when getting lost in my thoughts. The Jihadian contingent left obvious tracks in their wake, as hiding hundreds of men was near impossible. However, I was days behind them when I started my hunt, so my free time was spent practicing with this newfound power. I couldn’t do much, and my original dreams of becoming a human torch were quickly put to rest. Short gouts of flame and rushes of power were all I could accomplish recently. Using it was calming, and tracking the paths the fire burned through my system entranced my mind. It never followed the same path, uncaged as it lept for freedom in the confines of my body.

I was grateful for the power, even though its origins were confusing and led to memories best left to rest. Red flames dancing behind normally kind eyes flashed through my mind unbidden. My fist clenched, and I could feel my hand growing hot.

Relax. The Jihadians were close now, I was sure of it. Losing my cool here could spell disaster. I had largely recuperated from the raid and my injuries. Stretching the skin on my arm still caused me to wince in pain, but it had healed faster than expected, leaving only a thick line of scabbing and pink flesh.

A rhythmic stomping of feet up ahead made me turn my head and cut my movement. Listening closely, I could make out the jingle of metal and what sounded like voices. Finally, I had caught up with my target. I looked to the sun, and it was already on its way behind the mountains to my left. They would make camp soon, all I had to do was wait.

Wait is what I did, settling down deep in the woods off to the soldier’s left when they stopped for the day. I spent my time checking my equipment as the sun dipped beneath the horizon and the camp started to quiet. Igzil’s sword weighed heavy at my waist where it rested in the belt of my looted armor. Wearing the gear of the first man I’d killed felt right. He would help me exact my vengeance in the afterlife, a fitting price for him to pay.

The moon rose, the camp went silent. I could see my eyes reflecting off my short sword as the fire rose. They were so bright I was worried they would actually give me away in the inky darkness of night. But that was something I couldn’t change, so I rose to my feet and set my jaw for what was to come.

I stalked to the edge of the forest, making sure to place my boots only on roots and hard ground, a lesson our old hunter had taught me long ago. My ears picked up the noise of sharp metal against wood, and I risked a glance around my tree. A man sat, whittling a stick in boredom as he took his watch shift for the contingent. Rows upon rows of tents decorated the clearing behind him with random fires interspersed throughout. There were far more soldiers than I first expected. I counted fifty tents before I lost interest and focused again on the Jihadian not twenty paces away.

He let out a soft yawn and stretched a little before returning to his task. I noted that his body was turned to face a little to my left, so I slowly crawled to my right to make my angle better. I couldn’t go too far, as other soldiers were spaced well further down the treeline.

My body temperature rose in anticipation. The time for action was now. I infused fiery energy into my legs as I took off running in a crouch, exploding from the foliage. In seconds I had closed half the distance, my eyes locked on the soldier’s form. He turned in surprise as I was a few paces away, hearing my boots slapping against dirt.

It was too late. He stood sharply and opened his mouth to shout in alarm, but I sent a gout of flame at his face from my outstretched hand. He squeaked in surprise as barreled into him, taking him to the ground in a tackle. I wrenched my hand to his lips and held his mouth fast while I plunged my sword into his stomach.

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I felt hot breath against my hand as he thrashed beneath me. My eyes locked with his, cherishing the frenzied look as his pupils darted back and forth. I felt a grin split my face as those eyes went from frantic movement to a calm stillness.

“For Johnny,” I whispered before quickly glancing around to make sure nobody had seen my dance with death. All was quiet.

Fire raging within me, demanding movement, I lept to my feet and wrenched my sword from his gut in a spray of blood. Quickly sheathing my blade, I took his shoulders and dragged him into the dark shadow of a tent further into camp.

My heart beat with fury as I edged around the tent, taking in the scene before me. It was dark and quiet in the circle of tents I stumbled upon. A forgotten fire stood in the center with a few logs piled around as chairs. I scanned the tents for something to distinguish who resided inside.

There. One of the tents had an insignia embroidered on the front, an eagle upon a red and black striped shield. This had to be an officer, or at least somebody of importance. The contingent would feel their absence.

I scampered as quietly as possible across the clearing, praying nobody would open the flaps of their tent to take a midnight piss. I made it to the tent unmolested, breath coming heavy as I readied myself. Wasting no time, I slipped through the opening. My gaze swept from left to right. A pile of armor lay in the corner, shining black and sharp. A knight sneering down on me as he set my village to flame flashed through my mind. Two forms lay in a bundle of blankets at the back of the tent.

Bare breasts peaked from beneath the covers as a woman stirred sleepily, stretching a hand in the air. She blearily raised her head, and I burst into motion. I couldn’t let her see me, she’d scream and set the whole camp racing for my head. Her eyes opened, but I was faster. I didn’t even think, running my blade through her neck. She gurgled as the breath she was intaking instead rushed from her open throat. Her hands fell to the side, smacking the man to her left.

“More? I guess I can go for another round,” the man said blearily as he turned.

Damn these light sleepers. Before I could wrench my sword from the woman’s neck, the knight opened his eyes and saw the corpse beside him. He screamed and scrambled to his feet, eyes darting wildly to my figure.

There goes my cover. “This is for my family,” I said and hawked a glob of spit at his feet.

His eyes went wide. The fire was raging inside of me. I could barely control it as it begged for release, hammering at my insides.

He pressed himself against the side of the tent, obvious terror making the skin on his face stretch backwards.

“Your eyes… Are, are you the devil?” He said with a stutter.

I didn’t grace him with a response, instead simply chopping into his head with my already bloody sword as he cowered away from me. Flame coated my blade as I swung, burning the flesh as I jerked my sword out of his cracked head.

I looked at the steel in my hand with surprise. But, there was no time to understand what happened. Questioning voices could be heard outside the tent. I had to make my escape. I peaked my head out of the tent flaps, noticing a few soldiers milling around in the clearing, obviously confused about what was happening. Thank god, they didn’t know where the shout had come from. But I noticed one walking towards where I had laid the watchman, so I decided to act fast.

I slipped from the tent and flicked my wrist to send a spray of flame at the tent to my right. A pillar of fire wide as my thigh blazed from my hand, way larger than anything I had conjured before. The tent was immediately set alight, a beacon in the dark night. I didn’t let the surprise freeze me.

“Over there! Intruder!” I shouted while pointing away from my escape.

Heads turned quickly, and noticing in my Jihadian armor, they quickly trusted my words. Shouts rose through the air as the alarm was rallied. I quickly slipped out the way I came, stepping over the slaughtered watchman on the way out. Heat raged through my system as the treeline swallowed my form.

As I ran through the forest I noticed a wide grin on my face. I felt good. In fact, I felt amazing. A laugh tore itself from my throat as energy coursed through my veins. My body felt fast, responsive, and strong. I felt like I could jump across a canyon, outrun a horse, or crack a tree in half with my bare hands.

The shouts in the war camp faded behind me as I made my way deeper into the forest. For the first time in days, I felt accomplished. Operation one down, many to go I thought as my grin only grew wider.